A retrospective study on direct pulp capping success rates

Objectives: The primary goal of dental treatment is pulp vitality maintenance, especially in young patients. The present retrospective study evaluates the success rates of direct pulp capping techniques with regard to the vitality of the pulp. Methods: A total of 1098 permanent teeth in 545 male und 554 female patients (mean age: 36±17 years) were enrolled in the study. All patients received a direct pulp capping during routine dental procedures, due to removal of carious lesions, crown preparation, and trauma, in the dental school facilities. The inclusion criteria were: vital pulps without signs of inflammation and symptoms, total removal of caries, radiographs without noticeable periradicular changes, less than 1mm2 of pulp visible tissue. The pulps were covered with a Ca(OH)2 suspension (Calxyl and Kerr Life or Dycal) followed immediately by a permanent restoration. Pulp vitality, possible restoration leakage and periradicular changes were clinically and radiographically examined at pre-defined time stages. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated with the aid of SPSS (14.0) to observe pulp vitality over the time. Results: With a drop out rate of 18%, a total of 898 teeth (anterior teeth: 144, premolars: 214, molars: 540) could be examined. The study showed that over the observation time (up to 9.3 years) a total of 81.2% of the pulps remained vital. The male pulp positive vitality rate was 80.7% and 82.8% (p< 0.067) for female. In this defined observation time, no statistically significant pulp vitality differences between the patient's age (p< 0,3786) and the teeth localization (p<0,295) could be observed. Conclusions: This study showed that based on strict inclusion criteria direct pulp capping is a successful treatment in order to ensure long-term pulp vitality survival rates. 007-->